Close X
Thursday, November 7, 2024
ADVT 
National

Bennett Says B.C. Utilities Commission To Resume Setting BC Hydro Rates

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 04 Feb, 2015 03:30 PM
  • Bennett Says B.C. Utilities Commission To Resume Setting BC Hydro Rates
VICTORIA — The B.C. government has vowed to make the provincial utilities commission more independent almost three years after it stepped in and refused to allow the body to raise hydro rates for customers.
 
Energy Minister Bill Bennett says the government is prepared to implement the recommendations of a task force that calls for a strengthened and independent B.C. Utilities Commission.
 
The task force report released last fall made 35 recommendations to improve the governance, processes and performance at the BCUC.
 
Bennett says the changes will ensure the utilities commission resumes its role of setting BC Hydro rates by the third year of the government's 10-year rates plan, announced in November 2013.
 
In a statement today, Bennett says the government will work to implement the task force recommendations so the utilities commission can resume setting BC Hydro rates, but he does not elaborate on whether the hydro rate cap remains.
 
In May 2012, then-energy minister Rich Coleman ordered that the proposed 30 per cent rate increase be chopped in half, saying families need a break and the utility could afford the cut.
 
Among the task force's recommendations are hiring full-time commissioners and developing a memorandum of understanding to ensure clear roles and responsibilities between the government and the utilities commission.

MORE National ARTICLES

U.K. Celebrity Chef Wins B.C. Custody Battle; Child Ordered Returned To London

U.K. Celebrity Chef Wins B.C. Custody Battle; Child Ordered Returned To London
VANCOUVER — A London-based celebrity chef has won an international custody battle after using child abduction laws to have his toddler returned to him from the Vancouver area.

U.K. Celebrity Chef Wins B.C. Custody Battle; Child Ordered Returned To London

Verdict oddity gets man off dangerous driving causing death charge

Verdict oddity gets man off dangerous driving causing death charge
TORONTO — A man jailed four years ago for dangerous driving causing death had his conviction quashed Wednesday because of an oddity in the jury verdict that went unnoticed at the time.

Verdict oddity gets man off dangerous driving causing death charge

Toronto man who killed and dismembered ex-girlfriend seeks to appeal conviction

Toronto man who killed and dismembered ex-girlfriend seeks to appeal conviction
TORONTO — A Toronto man who savagely killed his ex-girlfriend, hacked her body to pieces and scattered her remains is seeking to challenge his second-degree murder conviction.

Toronto man who killed and dismembered ex-girlfriend seeks to appeal conviction

Opposition wants Baird to denounce lashes for blogger in Saudi Arabia

Opposition wants Baird to denounce lashes for blogger in Saudi Arabia
OTTAWA — Opposition parties want Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird to publicly denounce the flogging of a Saudi blogger who was lashed 50 times last week after being convicted of insulting Islam.

Opposition wants Baird to denounce lashes for blogger in Saudi Arabia

NDP to tout its economic management skills, bash Tory record

NDP to tout its economic management skills, bash Tory record
OTTAWA — NDP Leader Tom Mulcair is kicking off the new year with a concerted effort to persuade Canadians that New Democrats can be trusted to manage the fragile economy.

NDP to tout its economic management skills, bash Tory record

Anti-terror bill and civil-liberties: a familar tug-of-war for Harper

Anti-terror bill and civil-liberties: a familar tug-of-war for Harper
OTTAWA — As the prime minister and his cabinet craft the latest anti-terror legislation, they'll be thrust into a familiar balancing act between civil liberties and public safety.

Anti-terror bill and civil-liberties: a familar tug-of-war for Harper